Thefourthcircumstance，whencearisesthemiseryandilloftheuniverse，istheinaccurateworkmanshipofallthespringsandprinciplesofthegreatmachineofnature。Itmustbeacknowledged，thattherearefewpartsoftheuniverse，whichseemnottoservesomepurpose，andwhoseremovalwouldnotproduceavisibledefectanddisorderinthewhole。Thepartshangalltogether;norcanonebetouchedwithoutaffectingtherest，inagreaterorlessdegree。Butatthesametime，itmustbeobserved，thatnoneofthesepartsorprinciples，howeveruseful，aresoaccuratelyadjusted，astokeeppreciselywithinthoseboundsinwhichtheirutilityconsists;buttheyare，allofthem，apt，oneveryoccasion，torunintotheoneextremeortheother。Onewouldimagine，thatthisgrandproductionhadnotreceivedthelasthandofthemaker;solittlefinishediseverypart，andsocoarsearethestrokeswithwhichitisexecuted。Thus，thewindsarerequisitetoconveythevapoursalongthesurfaceoftheglobe，andtoassistmeninnavigation：buthowoft，risinguptotempestsandhurricanes，dotheybecomepernicious？Rainsarenecessarytonourishalltheplantsandanimalsoftheearth：buthowoftenaretheydefective？howoftenexcessive？Heatisrequisitetoalllifeandvegetation;butisnotalwaysfoundinthedueproportion。Onthemixtureandsecretionofthehumoursandjuicesofthebodydependthehealthandprosperityoftheanimal：butthepartsperformnotregularlytheirproperfunction。Whatmoreusefulthanallthepassionsofthemind，ambition，vanity，love，anger？Buthowoftdotheybreaktheirbounds，andcausethegreatestconvulsionsinsociety？
Thereisnothingsoadvantageousintheuniverse，butwhatfrequentlybecomespernicious，byitsexcessordefect;norhasNatureguarded，withtherequisiteaccuracy，againstalldisorderorconfusion。Theirregularityisneverperhapssogreatastodestroyanyspecies;butisoftensufficienttoinvolvetheindividualsinruinandmisery。
Ontheconcurrence，then，ofthesefourcircumstances，doesallorthegreatestpartofnaturalevildepend。
Werealllivingcreaturesincapableofpain，orweretheworldadministeredbyparticularvolitions，evilnevercouldhavefoundaccessintotheuniverse：andwereanimalsendowedwithalargestockofpowersandfaculties，beyondwhatstrictnecessityrequires;orweretheseveralspringsandprinciplesoftheuniversesoaccuratelyframedastopreservealwaysthejusttemperamentandmedium;theremusthavebeenverylittleillincomparisonofwhatwefeelatpresent。Whatthenshallwepronounceonthisoccasion？Shallwesaythatthesecircumstancesarenotnecessary，andthattheymighteasilyhavebeenalteredinthecontrivanceoftheuniverse？Thisdecisionseemstoopresumptuousforcreaturessoblindandignorant。Letusbemoremodestinourconclusions。Letusallow，that，ifthegoodnessoftheDeity（Imeanagoodnesslikethehuman）couldbeestablishedonanytolerablereasonsapriori，thesephenomena，howeveruntoward，wouldnotbesufficienttosubvertthatprinciple;butmighteasily，insomeunknownmanner，bereconcilabletoit。Butletusstillassert，thatasthisgoodnessisnotantecedentlyestablished，butmustbeinferredfromthephenomena，therecanbenogroundsforsuchaninference，whiletherearesomanyillsintheuniverse，andwhiletheseillsmightsoeasilyhavebeenremedied，asfarashumanunderstandingcanbeallowedtojudgeonsuchasubject。IamScepticenoughtoallow，thatthebadappearances，notwithstandingallmyreasonings，maybecompatiblewithsuchattributesasyousuppose;
butsurelytheycanneverprovetheseattributes。